May 2010

May 26, 2010

We sat in the afternoon heat sharing a root beer float. I told
him about the summer he was in my tummy and how he'd ask for a root beer float
and wouldn’t stop until I’d had one. He asked how I got it to him. Then he told
me he wanted to go back in my tummy.

May 24, 2010

This weekend we worked feverishly to finish planting the garden and putting up the electric fence in an attempt to keep out the deer.
I also worked on testing a pattern for Patterns by Figgy called the Tee for Two. We worked all day Saturday and Sunday digging in the dirt and I am so happy with what we got accomplished. While the garden looks beautiful there are weeds next to our house that are beginning to match me in height. Spring in a new house forces you to prioritize and right now the garden is at the top of our list. We'll tackle those five feet dandelions soon...

I was excited to test this pattern because I've always wanted to sew with jersey knit but wasn't sure I could.
I'm so happy that I now have a pattern that I can use to customize tshirts for my kids. This is one item of clothing I'm sure that they will wear.

May 17, 2010

Here is what I got accomplished this week during Kids Clothes Week Challenge. I also got about 8 other projects cut out and ready to go. These are more of Oliver + S sandbox pants made into shorts. I love the fit of these shorts and the construction was easy and fun. I think these will be my go-to pant and short pattern. Miles put his on this morning and has been wearing them ever since. Ben opted for some sweat pants. Oh, well maybe some other time...

May 14, 2010

Clutching his picture of David Beckham Miles went bravely
into the hair salon. He sat there with a smile plastered to his face the whole
time he was getting his haircut. This is the first time I’ve seen the back of
his ears since he was an infant. I love that he has an opinion now about his
appearance and is expressing himself through it. I think he looks awesome. I did finally finish a project for the Kids Sewing Week. The
other three pairs are waiting for the last few steps so I should have them done
by this weekend. The pattern is the Oliver + S sandbox pants but I shortened
them to make them into shorts.
This is the 3rd time I’ve made this
pattern and I love it. The fit is great. I asked Ben to try them on this morning and
after a minute with them on he took them off. I asked him if he was going to
wear them today and he said, “Um no. I’ll wear them in the summer.” I said “It
is summer.” He said, “Well, I wear them in the spring.” I said, “It is spring.”
So, I don’t know if they’ll ever get worn but here they are nonetheless. The
other pair I made for him are made of a soft, lightweight denim that they
picked out. Up next are the flannel pajama pants they picked out so I have more
hope that they will be worn…

May 12, 2010

Today was
raining and dark. I took my morning shower and upon walking into the living
room past Ben I heard, “You look beautiful.”

Later after
dropping Miles at preschool I was in the kitchen with Ben when I suggested we
turn on some music. He said, “Dance with me.” (Charming boy with cute bunny. . . does it get any better than that?)

Then after we
danced he sat having a snack and said “Here I made you a necklace.” Handing me
an invisible necklace that he pretended to make, “It has a heart on it and it
says ‘I love you.’

May 11, 2010

I'm happy to report that I have been keeping up the challenge of spending at least an hour a day sewing clothes for my kids. The progress has been slow going and there are no projects to show for my time yet. All of my time has been spent cutting patterns, tracing and cutting fabric.
I just started actually sewing last night. I have all of my projects cut, so hopefully I'll have something to share here soon. Currently I have four pairs of Oliver + S sandbox pants (transformed into shorts) on the sewing table and I'm doing them assembly line style.
My hour is squeezed in after the kids go to bed. Hopefully I'll be back here soon with my kids in these shorts!

May 09, 2010

We finally got some things planted in the garden today and I
finally found myself back in the craft room sewing. With most of the weekends
full of rain, we’ve been waiting for the right time to begin planting and with
the pure blue skies up above, we dug into the dirt and planted shallots,
garlic, strawberries, asparagus, swiss chard, spinach, potatoes, rhubarb and
onions.
I’ve been amazed at how much prep work has been involved with a garden
this size leading up to actually putting the seeds and seedlings in the ground.
Hopefully next weekend we can plant the rest of the garden.

This week begins the Kids Sewing Challenge at Elsie Marley
where the challenge is to spend at least one hour each day sewing clothes for
your kids. I’ve spent the last several days just tracing patterns and cutting
out. I still have more of that to do and now I have a pile of cut fabric
waiting to be put together.
I have very ambitious plans that include 6 pairs of
shorts, 4 pairs of pajama pants and 2 hoodies. I know I won’t get all of this
done in one week but hopefully with the momentum I’ve got started I can finish
these projects I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.

I had a wonderful Mother’s Day today. I got up to find Tim
placing a nice hearty breakfast on a tray to bring to me in bed. Then Miles
kept sneaking away to the craft room to make me things. One of his surprises
had real flowers glued to it. So sweet. After dinner Tim took the boys out to
play baseball and I went into the craft room to sew. But after a few minutes of
watching my boys play in the yard I couldn’t stay inside and I suggested we go
for hike. So, to end this great day we took a hike in the woods just before the
sun set.

May 07, 2010

The last couple of weeks Tim and I have been battling nasty
colds and now it seems the boys have caught it. Miles ran a temperature of 105
last night and it was so hard to see him so uncomfortable. It is at these times
though that I get to see what a great dad Tim is. He steps in and becomes so nurturing
and has great instincts on what to do. He hovered over him, rechecking his
temperature and doing what he could to make him comfortable. Then he gave his
spot up in bed, laid Miles down next to me and then he took the couch. Today
Miles and Ben have dressed up like superheroes and I hope they use some of
those special powers to rid this house of the virus.

I’ve been trying to get into the craft room almost every
night to prepare for Kids Sewing Week over at Elsie Marley. The goal is spend
at least one hour each night in the second week of May sewing for your kids. This
is just the push I’ve needed to get back in the sewing room. I have plans to
make pajama bottoms, several pairs of shorts and even a hoodie for each boy.

Wish us luck on fighting this virus. A little luck and some powers from Batman
and super B should do the job.

May 02, 2010

This weekend marked our ninth wedding anniversary. Although
we didn’t plan ahead for a babysitter and I got a terrible cold, we still
managed to have a nice day. We worked side-by-side in the garden moving dirt
into the newly built raised beds. It was nice to stop and reflect on who we
were nine years ago and to ask Tim if he thought then that he’d be here now
where we are. Of course he said no. A dream has manifested for us that I don’t
even think we could have come up with that day in our twenties. Here we are now, moving
dirt, realizing this dream of beginning to be more self-sufficient by growing
what we eat; living next to a woods with miles and miles of hiking trails; and
listening and watching our two beautiful boys playing nearby. It feels like all
of this has become reality because of that day nine years ago.We continued to celebrate our marriage and our family all
weekend.

We went to this families first ever tball game. We went hiking and like usual Ben found the perfect walking
stick.
Can you see where his brother cut his hair while they were playing
barber shop earlier this week?
There is a big chunk of hair cut from the front
and a big chunk from the back. Luckily his hair is wavy enough that it’s not
too obvious.

Earlier today Miles set up this “Dog Sale.” By dog sale he
does not mean he is selling dogs, rather selling bones for dogs.
He has found
all of these bones (and more) in our yard and surrounding woods.It was a great weekend. I can only imagine what the next
nine years will bring for our family. I feel so lucky to have gained all that I
have these last nine.